Live fish bait container



OC- 23, 1951 H. E, ROBERTSON 2,572,763

LIVE FISH BAIT CONTAINER Filed April 12, 1948 2 SHEETS'SHEET l rtf gmac/Wto@ Harvey E. /Poefscm Oct. 23, 1951 H. E. ROBERTSON v 2,572,763v

LIVE FISH BAIT CONTAINER Filed April l2, 1948 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2,

ATTORNEYS Patented Oct. 23, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE` LIVE FISH BAIT CONTAINER Harvey E. Robertson, Dallas, Tex.

Application April 12, 1948, Serial No. 20,500

1 Claim. l This invention relates to new and useful improvements in live fish bait containers,

l One object of the invention is to provide an may freely circulate through the container walls and at the same time the aircurrents may be moistened, whereby the worms will not only be kept alive but will be induced to stay in the container.

A further object of the invention is to provide a bait container including an outer foraminous enclosure or cage and a foraminous vessel or bait holder mounted in the cage and spaced therefrom sufficiently to permit one or more layers of coarse cloth or other absorbent material to be wound around the bait holder and moistened, whereby moist air currents may pass through the container.

A construction designed to carry out the invention will be hereinafter described together with other features of the invention.

The invention will be more readily understood from a reading of the following specication and by reference to the accompanying drawing,

.cover being open to an upright position,

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional View taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is an enlarged, transverse sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2,

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the container, the cover being swung back and down to show the hinge tab,

Fig. 5 is a side elevation, partly broken away, of the inner portion of the container,

Fig. 6 is a reduced perspective View of the outer portion of the container, and

Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken on the line 1-1 of Fig. 5.

In the drawing, the numeral I0 designates the outer cylindrical, metal mesh shell or cage of the container and II, the inner cylindrical vessel or bait holder. The cage is preferably formed of a wire mesh material, such as coarse wire cloth and 1A inch mesh has proven satisfactory. The material is suitably formed into a cylinder and 2 has annular ferrules I2 secured to its top and bottom.'

Within the cage a flanged supporting ring I3 is secured to the inner surface thereof, as by soldering, and spaced above the bottom ferrule I2. The bait holder I I rests on a foraminous bottom I6 having its marginal portion supported on the ring and may be readily withdrawn upwardly from the cage. The bait holder is formed of a relatively fine mesh, wire material, such as ordinary window screen, or preferably, wire cloth of 30--50 mesh. This material is suitably made into a cylinder with top and bottom ferrules I4. The cage and bait holder may be made of nonrusting and non-corroding materials.

The bait holder is sufficiently less in diameter than the cage to provide an annular space therebetween. A strip of cloth or fabric, such as burlap or other absorbent material, is arranged around the bait holder II so as to extend from one ferrule to the other ferrule thereof and completely enclose said holder to form a jacket I5. One or more layers or thicknesses of the burlap may be used and the free end of the wound strip may be secured in place in any desirable fashion. In the drawing three layers or circumferential wrappings of the burlap are shown as forming the jacket I5. The spacing between the cage and the bait holder should be ample to permit the holder and the cloth jacket to be freely inserted and removed. The ferrule I4 is secured to the bottom of the cylindrical bait holder II, and rests upon, and is secured to the flat bottom I6 which may be made of the same material as said bait holder. This bottom rests upon the horizontal bottom or inwardly directed flange of a supporting ring I3, which is right-angular in cross-section and has its vertical portion or upright flange suitably fastened upon the inner surface of the cylindrical wall of the cage I0. The marginal portion of the bottom I6 extends beyond the ferrule I4 and supports the bottom edges of the jacket I5. The ring I3 is spaced a substantial distance above the bottom ferrule I2 so as to expose an ample cylindrical portion of the cage between said ferrule and the ring, whereby ample cross ventilation and admission of air below the bottom I6, is provided and air circulation through said bottom is had.

If desired, a cover I'I formed of several layers of cloth, preferably coarse, may be mounted on the bait holder. The cover has a hinge tab I8 stitched between the upper edges of the jacket layers and is large enough to overlie the top ferrule I4 of the holder. This cover has its outer layers Ila, IIb of larger diameter than its inner an indenite :period of itime.

layer or lling II' and these outer layers are stitched together around their margins and the hinge tab I8 across the bottom, is merely a portion of the margins of the louter layers inserted between and stitched to, the upper edge portions of two of the layers of the jacket I5. Obviously, other types of permeable covers may be used with success. A bail or handle I9 may be attached to the upper portion of the cage.

In using the container, thedevice is immersed in water'long enough to saturate the cloth jacket I5 or, if desired, the bait holder I! may be removed and the jacket saturated. The live bait, such as worms, hellgramrnites, and'theflikefare placed in the bait holder and a small quantity of moss or earth may be placed'in the holder. In transporting the container it is placed v`in an exposed position where air currents may pass through it. If necessary, it may be again-mois tened.

ifIhe `container-may'` be hung yon the flimb :of a tree and the bait kept alive and in captivity -rfor So long V'as 'the Vjacket l5 `remains'moist, ithefcontainer will-,pre-

servefthe bait and since the severalcloth layers .f

twill-'retain their moisture .for several hours,:under ordinary weather conditions, frequent moisten- Yingsof the jacketis not necessary. 'It is Vpointed out thatthesuccess o'f the-deviceis due to the Astructure vwhereby horizontal 'or :cross currents f :fof :.moist fair may ',-iiow through .the bait `v`holder;

zthus, 'unlessthe vertical ,wall of the` cage is v"highly lforaminous the device will not function prop- `erly.

The ne `'wire :cloth bait holder I I :adequately zretains dirtfandl particles 'of "moss which may be placed '.thereinfand thusprevents this material from @working `into `the jacket I5. However, 'the :cloth of the holder permit's :eiiicient `circulation fof aair`and^-isfreadily removed, separately from vthejacketfor-cleaning. The jacket falso is sepfarately @removable -for Acleaning or yreplacement isincef it merely rests within the cagefl -in .a-frictionalmanner and'receives-'the holder :If-I -in a similar manner. 7In-warm weather, the jacketis imoistenedand functions to cool and V,protect the vfba'it. Also, vincooler weather, the jacket Ymay be :left dryto protect thebait from loweredtemperaltures. YIneitherinstance, the Yjacket acts as Ya protective :covering -to -maintain the interior -of Pthee-holder I I vat-amoderatez-temperature, -while insuring #the circulation of adequate fair to Y'keep ,fthe-baitfin optimumtcondition. The-coarse cloth orjpther -forarnnous material yof vwhich the top l:nr cover I'I is made, along Vwith-the wire cloth fbottom :I6,-encourage the Vready circulation of 4 air and increase the effectiveness of the container. With proper care, such as periodic moistening and feeding, baits of various types may be kept in excellent condition in this container for indefinite periods of time.

The foregoing description of the invention is explanatory thereof and various changes in the size, shape and materials, as Well as in the details of the illustrated construction may be made, within the scope of thefappende'd claim, without departingfrom the spirit of theinvention.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

A'iish'bait container including, an outer metal mesh shell of cylindrical form, a ring secured on "the interior-fof said shell on the wall thereof, said `ringihaving, a kvertical portion and a horizontal bottom, the latter being spaced from the bottom vof the shell, a disk of metal mesh supported on the horizontal bottom .and abutting the vertical ,wall, ia cylindrical fmember :of 'fmetal'miesh of smaller diameter; than the ziringihavingeitslower edge portion securedto ithezdiski in ,spaced'iela- `ti'on to "the verticalV wall of the fi'ing; "afabric f drical Amember fexteriorly :thereof 1in eabutting. fre- Ilation with the diskand 'Lthetfverticalwallothe ring, :and a cloth .cover'fhaving :one -edgeithe'reof 4embedded lin the 'fabric"amoistureholding vlmat'erialA and y constitutingimeans .to fraiseandlower the/'cylindrical memberandifabriclmaterial rela- `tive"-to th'efshell. f

I-IfARVEYELRiQBERTSON.

REFERENCES CITED 1 The following *references `-are'of frec'ord'inlithe nle o'f this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Norway Apr.27,"f9l"0 

